Dear Mr. Kerry:
As you prepare for the upcoming Democratic Convention, I'm sure you're wondering what you can do to enhance your chances for election in November. I'm sure you've been meeting with all sorts of traditional Democratic power players over the past few weeks, and no doubt you'll continue to do so in the coming weeks. I'm sure their input will be a significant part of the platform-building process. You didn't ask me what I thought, so I'm taking this opportunity to offer some ideas.
1) Take everything they say and toss it. I've just finished skimming the Democratic platofrms of 1996 and 2000. To a good liberal voter like me, these platforms say: Nothing. They're feel-good laundry lists of political theorists. Good for printers, useless for people seeking a reason to support you.
2) Avoid like the plague words and phrases like "empower", "invest in people", and "valuing". Nobody knows what these mean, but they sound squishy, not tangible. People relate to tangible things.
3) Don't talk about "rolling back the Bush tax cuts". That's a loser from the get-go. Even the people who didn't get much of a tax cut at all think they got one. So they think you're going to raise their taxes. If your plan will result in people making over $200,000 paying more taxes, then say so.
4) Don't try to cover every interest in the party with a platform plank all it's own. That plays right into the hands of those who say the Democratic Party is captive to special interest groups. Concentrate on the big issues. Paint in broad strokes. Make the platform look like a Grand Plan, not a punch-list for liberals.
5) Make the platform relevant to people individually. That's the way they'll vote. Blocs don't vote. People do. It's that tangible thing again. The Grand Plan has to be a Personally Relevant Grand Plan.
6) This is maybe the most important thing: don't be afraid to kick butt. There was a time when, regardless of whether the President was liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, other countries knew that the United States was not afraid to exert military force. At the core of both sets of political beliefs was an understanding that there are just some things worth fighting against, and some things worth fighting for. There are many in the United States today who aren't sure Democrats still hold to that. Those are the people you need to reach. But before you try, make sure you've figured out for yourself what's worth fighting against, and worth fighting for. And here's a hint: put that at the top of the platform, not the bottom.
Sincerely,
Harry